Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-106.8

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, December 11, 2024

Rule 571-106.8 - Nonresident application procedure

Applications for nonresident deer hunting licenses must be made through the electronic licensing system for Iowa (ELSI) telephone order system or the ELSI Internet license sales website.

(1)Any-deer licenses. Applications for any-deer and mandatory antlerless-deer-only licenses will be accepted from the first Saturday in May through the first Sunday in June. No one may submit more than one application during the application period. Hunters may apply as individuals or as a group of up to 15 applicants. All members of a group will be accepted or rejected together in the drawing. If applications have been sold in excess of the license quota for any zone or season, a drawing will be held to determine which applicants receive licenses. Licenses or refunds of license fees will be mailed to applicants after the drawing is completed. License agent writing fees, department administrative fees and telephone order charges will not be refunded. If any zone's license quota for any-deer and mandatory antlerless-deer-only licenses has not been filled, the excess any-deer and mandatory antlerless-deer-only licenses will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis through the ELSI telephone ordering system or the ELSI Internet license sales website. Excess any-deer and mandatory antlerless-deer-only licenses will be sold beginning the last Saturday in July until the quota has been filled or the last day of the hunting period for which the license is valid, whichever occurs first. Members of a group that are rejected may purchase licenses individually if excess any-deer and mandatory antlerless-deer-only licenses or optional antlerless-deer-only licenses are available.

(2)Optional antlerless-deer-only licenses. Optional antlerless-deer-only licenses must be purchased through the ELSI telephone ordering system or the ELSI Internet license sales website. Licenses for taking only antlerless deer will be available on the same date as excess any-deer licenses are sold as explained in 106.8(1). Optional antlerless-deer-only licenses will only be issued for one of the two regular gun seasons and for qualified disabled hunters (571-106.15(481A)). They will be sold first-come, first-served until the county quota is filled, or until the last day of the season for which a license is valid. If optional antlerless-deer-only licenses are still available on December 15, they may be purchased by nonresidents to hunt during the period from December 24 through January 2. These licenses will be available to nonresidents who have not purchased a nonresident deer license during one of the current deer seasons. The hunter must have in possession a valid nonresident small game hunting license and proof of having paid the current year's wildlife habitat fee. Optional antlerless-deer-only licenses will be valid only in the season and county designated by the hunter at the time the license is purchased.

a. Nonresident landowners. Nonresidents who own land in Iowa will have preference in obtaining optional antlerless-deer-only licenses. Nonresidents must qualify as landowners following the criteria stated in 106.17(1) and 106.17(3) through 106.17(6), except that nonresident tenants and family members of nonresident landowners and tenants do not qualify and nonresident optional antlerless-deer-only licenses will not be free of charge. If a farm unit is owned jointly by more than one nonresident, only one owner may claim landowner preference in the same year. Nonresidents who own land jointly with a resident do not qualify for preference. Nonresidents who have provided proof to the department that they own land in Iowa and meet the qualifying criteria may purchase an optional antlerless-deer-only license for one of the two regular gun seasons when excess any-deer licenses go on sale or for the holiday season beginning December 15. Such proof must be provided before an optional antlerless-deer-only license can be purchased and must be resubmitted each year in which an optional antlerless-deer-only license is purchased. These licenses do not count against the county quota.

b.Nonresident proof of land ownership. Nonresidents who request preference for optional antlerless-deer-only licenses will be required to submit a copy of their state of Iowa property tax statement for the current year or sign an affidavit that lists the legal description of their land, date purchased, and book and page number, or instrument number, where the deed is recorded.

(3)Preference points. Each individual applicant who is unsuccessful in the drawing for an any-deer license will be assigned one preference point for each year that the individual is unsuccessful. If a person who was unsuccessful in the drawing purchases a leftover license within four weeks, the person will receive a refund for the cost of the preference point. Preference points will not accrue in a year in which an applicant fails to apply, but the applicant will retain any preference points previously earned. Preference points will apply only to obtaining any-deer licenses. Once an applicant receives an any-deer nonresident deer hunting license, all preference points will be removed until the applicant is again unsuccessful in a drawing or purchases a preference point as described in 106.8(4). Preference points will apply to any zone or season for which a hunter applies. The first drawing for any-deer licenses each year will be made from the pool of applicants with the most preference points. If licenses are still available after the first drawing, subsequent drawings will be made from pools of applicants with successively fewer preference points and continue until the any-deer license quota is reached or all applicants have received licenses. Applicants who apply as a group will be included in a pool of applicants with the same number of preference points as that of the member of the group with the fewest preference points assigned.

(4)Purchasing preference points. A nonresident who does not want to hunt in the current year may purchase one preference point per calendar year. The preference point will apply to the next year's drawing for any-deer licenses. The preference point will be treated in the same manner as preference points obtained by hunters who are unsuccessful in the any-deer license drawing. A nonresident may not purchase a preference point and apply for an any-deer license in the same calendar year. Preference points may be purchased only during the application period for any-deer licenses.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-106.8

Adopted by IAB May 1, 2024/Volume XLVI, Number 22, effective 6/5/2024